Water passing through fuel tank filter

[BeezFun]

I use 55gal drums for diesel, have an electric pump and this filter. I get a small amount of water in the sediment bowl of the filter, but a lot of water in the sediment bowl in my tractor. I expected the sediment bowl on the filter to capture more of the water, but maybe the turbulence of the fuel from the pump running mixes the water with the fuel and forces it through the filter into my tractor tank. I've seen filters that claim they remove water, but they're also listed as 10 micron which is the same size as the filter I have.

If I buy a filter like this to remove water, how do I know when it's full? With the amount of water I'm seeing, this thing would be full after one or two barrels. It would seem like there should be some way to drain the thing to get the water out.

 

[r porter]

a story
it may or may not be applicable here.

i had a famall that was constantly getting water in the sediment bowl and eventually it would fill and starve out the engine. i fought this for a year. i drained the bowl and would put in dry gas and the first time i used the tractor the engine quit.

i took off the sediment bowl and drained the gas and it still happened. eventually i took off the 3 inch pipe stub that the bowl was on. that allowed me to remove a gallon of water that was trapped in the tank because the pipe stuck up into the tank and the water level was below the pipe inlet. when ever the tractor was driven the water splashed up and over the inlet and filled the bowl.

 

[JethroB]

OP, I suspect your turbulence idea is right. As an experiment, pump some fuel into a clear jar and see how long it takes the water to separate.
:2cents:

 

[jaxs]

There's no way people a thousand miles away can know what's going on at your place and tell you how to fix it. It's up to you to look at evidence to figure it out. For all we know,your supplier pours water in his diesel to increase his profit. How should we know if a mad neighbor is spiking your fuel? From your discription,you should start by finding another place to buy diesel. Meanwhile lock your tanks and make sure water seperators are desighned to handle gallons per minute going through them. I go normally go through several hundered gallons without seeing even 1 ounce of water.

 

[Richard]

Do you (OP) keep your fuel tank filled when you're done? If you don't, I would wonder if it could be condensing inside the tank. I always try to keep my tanks full.... cut a field, top it off. This way I also always have a full tank in machine when I start a project. I really detest going out to start something and darn.....I'm about out of fuel......oh, double darn, I don't have any backup tanks so now I have to drive into town to fill the tanks to fill the tractor (or backhoe) and when done, I have no reserves to top it off....

(I have about seven 5-gallon jugs that I use to ferry diesel back/forth.

I rarely have water issues. In fact, there's only been one time in about 20 years when I had a significant amount of water in my separator. Otherwise I usually can't see any.

 

[LouNY]

Looking at the filters linked in your original post I don't see any that are labeled as water blocking.
Goldenrod filters have water block filters.
Also if the filter head has a tap for a pressure gauge can help you to monitor the filter condition,
most filters will have a bypass valve built into them when you reach that point no filtering occurs.

 

[RjCorazza]

The filter you linked is just a standard cartridge filter that does not block water. I use a 10u water blocking cartridge filter on my transfer tank.
As has been mentioned, check the flow rating of your current filter, and some bowl type filters have optional water blocking elements available.
The canister filters I use (GPM or Goldenrod) will lock up when full of water.

 

[BeezFun]

As an experiment, pump some fuel into a clear jar and see how long it takes the water to separate.
:2cents:

I have a clear 1 gal pitcher I use to mix 2 cycle fuel, I'm going to use it to extract fuel from the 55 gal barrel next time and see how much water I find.

Do you (OP) keep your fuel tank filled when you're done?

I'm not real careful about that, but I've had the tractor 15 years and never had a problem with water until the last year or so when I started using 55 gal barrels for fuel storage. The weather around here has gotten much more extreme with wide temp and humidity extremes, so it's possible that's a problem too. My tractor tank is plastic, which can also condense moisture, but it's not as big a problem as a steel tank. I also used to use 5 gal containers and poured them through a Mr Funnel, which takes out water. The problem with using an electric pump is it goes too fast for the Mr Funnel. Maybe I need to go back to try using the funnel and put some kind of flow restrictor on the pump hose so it matches the capacity of the funnel.

Goldenrod filters have water block filters.

I use a 10u water blocking cartridge filter on my transfer tank.

I didn't realize that when I bought this filter, I think I'll order a blocking filter and see if that helps. I talked to the company that delivers the fuel, they were pretty helpful. They said any tank left outside can condense a lot of water, and the kind of pump I use vents air along the sides of the threads that go into the bung, so when I take fuel out, it sucks in replacement air and if that happens to be on a warm humid day it can be a lot of water that eventually condenses out inside the barrel. Their recommendation was to try to move the barrels inside so they're not in the direct sun and weather, that will reduce the temperature extremes that can lead to condensation.

 

[BeezFun]

I just ordered this filter element, it's supposed to block water. We'll see if that helps. Thanks for all the suggestions.

 

[RjCorazza]

An exposed to the elements fuel barrel is a water disaster waiting to happen. Definitely try to get the barrel at a minimum under cover, preferably inside a shed. I store 55g of gas (soon to be diesel) in a 55g metal drum kept in a garden shed. Currently there is only a particulate filter on it, but will swap it with a water blocking filter when I switch over to diesel.
I will add that the water blocking filters are not cheap, so you may want to mitigate the water contamination first, then start using the filter.
Hope you get it sorted out...